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Brussels mayor: All our mosques are controlled by Salafists

The Belgian capital has a problem with extremist Islam, Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur said in an interview with newspaper De Morgen published Wednesday, one year after the terror attacks at Zaventem Airport and Maalbeek metro station.

“Everyone knows that all mosques in Brussels are in the hands of Salafists,” Mayeur said, referring to the radical form of Islam. “We need to change this, we need new mosques that follow our democratic rules and that are being controlled by the government.”

However, Mayeur denied claims his city is the capital of jihad, an image that emerged after authorities revealed many of the terror suspects responsible for the Paris and Brussels terror attacks lived or operated from the city.

“Jihadism in Belgium started in Antwerp, then spread to Vilvoorde, Molenbeek and Brussels-north,” Mayeur said.